New Delhi, March 28: The Union government on Wednesday fixed a wheat export target of 5 million tonne for the next fiscal at an ex-FCI price of Rs 4,300 per tonne, up from the Rs 4,150 at present. It further said all parties, including private agencies and cooperative undertakings, will be allowed to export wheat after May 31, 2001. Addressing reporters here, Minister for Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Shanta Kumar said: "As on March 26, India has exported 16.92 lakh tonne of wheat and various PSUs and parties have already paid in advance for 19.62 lakh tonne of the commodity.""With wheat exports expected to exceed 2 million tonne by March 31 this year, the next fiscal's target has been fixed at 5 million tonne," he said.
Announcing the new price of Rs 4,300 per tonne for wheat export after March 31, he said traders could still lift stocks from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at the old price provided the payment is made latest by April 30.
The new price of Rs 4,300 per tonne is applicable for exports uptil May 31, 2001, and traders will be allowed to lift stocks latest by June 30.
So far wheat has been exported to Bangladesh, Malaysia, the UAE, South Korea, Mayanmar, Oman, the Philippines and Yemen. The minister added that MMTC had exported 3.18 lakh tonne, STC 2.65 lakh tonne and PEC 11.08 lakh tonne against allocations of 4.83 lakh tonne, 12.24 lakh tonne and 20.44 lakh tonne respectively.
Mr Kumar said the present stock of wheat is 233 lakh tonne against a buffer stock requirement of 40 lakh tonne leading to exces stocks amounting to 193 lakh tonne.
In the coming season, the Centre is aiming at a procurement of 192 lakh tonne though the final figure could touch 200 lakh tonne, he added.
Dispelling fears of an immediate decentralisation of foodgrain procurement, the minister said the Centre is committed to purchase them at the fixed minimum support price (MSP).
Decentralisation was an on going process and states like UP, MP and West Bengal were already procuring foodgrains at their own levels, he added.
Mr Kumar, however, said the ministry had asked the states to provide additional storage space to stock the foodgrains. "The Centre is prepared to bear the rental costs," he said.
Commenting on the gap of Rs 830 per tonne between the economic cost and issue price of export, he said the same was only notional, because exports had helped reduce carrying cost of Rs 220 per tonne annually.
The minister said that by sale of around 2 million tonne of wheat, FCI had already earned Rs 830 crore which could now be put into expansion of operations.
On rice exports,the minister said 7,000 tonne of rice exports had taken place. Admitting that rice export was far below the target of around 20 lakh tonne he said: "We started the process late. The FCI had invited tenders and fixed a price of Rs 6,750 per tonne, and now orders amounting to 1,23,000 tonne of rice have been placed with the FCI ."
(PTI)
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
